StarCraft 2 will NOT have LAN multiplayer

Blizzard has confirmed that StarCraft 2 will only support online multiplayer via Battle.net, and will not have LAN multiplayer functionality. This will definitely come as a disappointment to nearly everyone interested, but Blizzard have provided their reasons to back up their decision. Bob Carlayco, Blizzard PR (Public Relations) said the following: “We don’t currently plan to support LAN play with StarCraft II, as we are building Battle.net to be the ideal destination for multiplayer gaming with StarCraft II and future Blizzard Entertainment games. While this was a difficult decision for us, we felt that moving away from LAN play and directing players to our upgraded Battle.net service was the best option to ensure a quality multiplayer experience with StarCraft II and safeguard against piracy. Several Battle.net features like advanced communication options, achievements, stat-tracking, and more, require players to be connected to the service, so we’re encouraging everyone to use Battle.net as much as possible to get the most out of StarCraft II. We’re looking forward to sharing more details about Battle.net and online functionality for StarCraft II in the near future.”

This comes as very bad news for us in South Africa, but to all those that can get online, I have no doubt that StarCraft 2’s Battle.net will be exceptional. The official release date for StarCraft 2 is still yet to be announced, but keep in touch for any further updates.